A Rogue's Heart
by BleachedHollow
Summary: Ichigo Kurosaki, former 13th squad Lieutenant turned defector. Accused of being responsible for the deaths of the entire Central 46. Now he and his group of ragtag soldiers walk the path of a Mercenary, guns for hire. All he wanted to do was stay out of sight from the shinigami, but he learns some things are easier said, then done. Possible Ichigo/Harem.


_A Rogue's Heart_

_Chapter 1_

_Now I'm not afraid to do the Lord's work_

An orange-haired who looked to be a teenager was seen getting dressed. He stopped wearing the shinigami attire and replaced it with something more to his taste. He and his group had required clothes from the real world by getting in touch with the infamous Urahara.

_He said vengeance is his, but I'm going to do it first._

He glanced around the room gazing at his "soldiers" or better lack of term. A ragtag group to say the least. A rogue Soul Reaper, one of the last Quincy, and three other defected Soul Reapers, who came with a mixed arsenal of powers.

_I'm going to handle my business, in the name of the law._

Uryū Ishida. The Quincy. Because of the history between the Shinigami and Quincy you would come to imagine he and Ichigo should be at odds with one another, and for a time you'd be correct. When the two first met, they battled. Ichigo was caught off guard, due mostly to the fact that he along with everyone else though the Quincy were long extinct.

When the battle had ended, Ichigo stood the victor. Ishida practically spat at his feet begging him to finish him off. Instead Ichigo, helped him to his feet. One would never thought that such a small action as that would have a long lasting effect. It did. Since then, the rivals turned close friends.

_Now if he made you cry I got to know._

Yasutora Sado. Or simply Chad. A mammoth of a man. Dark-skinned and extremely tall and muscular. He looked to be a teenager of Mexican descent. The way he and Ichigo met was an odd occurrence. It was when Ichigo had just became a seated member under Jūshirō Ukitake of the 13th division. To celebrate his achievement he went out for a drink. Though walking in he came across an altercation. Before him stood a giant getting the shit beat out of him. He wasn't defending himself from his two assailants, so Ichigo took it upon himself and kindly removed the attackers from the bar, by use of pummeling them.

When asked why he wouldn't fight back, Chad said something about a vague promise he remembered from his past life. Ichigo was surprised to say the least. After that Ichigo made a offer to Chad about joining the Shinigami Academy. Told him that he would have his back. Since that day Chad has kept an undying loyalty to Ichigo. After he finished the academy he was placed underneath the 13 division as well. Though some were annoyed that it seemed he would listen more to Ichigo then Captain Ukitake.

_If he's not ready to die, he best prepare for it._

This brought us to the last two members of his esteemed group. Tatsuki Arisawa of the 2nd division and Orihime Inoue of the 4th division. Now what would these two be doing with a person like Ichigo? Well Ichigo and Tatsuki have a well known past, and wherever Tatsuki goes, Orihime is never to far behind. Even though Tatsuki and Orihime are as opposite as night and day, they are best friends. Tatsuki's fiery nature was kept under control by Orihime's calm yet kind attitude, which was amplified by serving under Retsu Unohana.

Tatsuki was one of Ichigo's oldest friends. It had been two years since Ichigo had went rogue, when something happened that caused her and Orihime to go in search of Ichigo.

_Now I don't take pleasure in a man's pain._

Last was the infamous leader himself. Ichigo Kurosaki. Son of former squad captain of the 11th division, Isshin Kurosaki. Brother of 2nd squad, 6th seat, Karin Kurosaki, and 4th squad, 5th seat, Yuzu Kurosaki. He was Lieutenant of the 13th division under Captain Ukitake, one of the most esteemed captains in history. Though his rank was Lieutenant, many including Ukitake didn't know just how powerful Ichigo truly was. Ichigo was extremely likable though. No one had a cross word to say about him. He was often proclaimed, as level-headed, charismatic, and a sarcastic smartass at times. Those qualities had garnered him the attention of many individuals, letting him develop relationships with some of his fellow Shinigami. Soi Fon, Gin Ichimaru, Rangiku Matsumoto, Nanao Ise, Rukia Kuchiki, along with the entire Shiba Clan.

_But my wrath will come down like the cold rain._

Ichigo sighed as closed his eyes. He had been on his own for nearly three years, before the others joined up with him. First Ishida, then Chad, and lastly Tatsuki and Orihime. In those years by himself, he taken on many jobs. From assassin to thief. Even the rare bodyguard, and search and rescue mission. In that time he had also gained a multitude of nicknames. From the classics like, fallen angel, to the more unique ones like, death bringer.

He chuckled thinking about some of the rumors. One where he supposedly destroyed an entire district, another where he slit the throats of a whole noble clan, then his personal favorite, that he couldn't be killed. The were beginning to become even more exaggerated. He brushed them off. Now he and his crew were a well known mercenary group, collectively known as the Nightwalkers. It wasn't them that came up with the name, it was given to them by the locals, so they just ran with it.

Ishida was wearing his traditional Quincy attire. A garb of mostly white with a small mixture of blue. He was slowly pacing back and fourth from one side of the room to the other. He would stop to fidget with his bracelet and resume.

Chad seemingly made eye contact with the Quincy and settled him down. The gentle giant's outfit was more Victorian style. Dark slacks, with a long black jacket with a white collar protruding out. As he sat there Orihime approached him and placed a red rose in his front jacket pocket and offered him a smile, which he returned.

Tatsuki and Orihime both wore the same exact uniform, that Tatsuki was able to lift from the 2nd squad barracks before they left. The stealth squad uniform hug both their forms showing off their bodies.

Ichigo, like Chad took a more dark style of attire. Black slacks, slightly longer then they should have been. A pair of pointy-toed boots with one spur on his left boot. His upper body was a skintight black long-sleeved shirt which the sleeves stopped a couple inches above the wrist. On top of that was a long black coat, with wrists that seemed to be made out of fur.

Ichigo was making the last touches, as he put on his gloves, then made his last requirement, his bandana which he wrapped around his head, pushing his hair back and letting the stray hair fall over the cloth.

"You guys ready?"

He got the nodding of four heads in return. He went over the plan.

"Alright then. Ishida like always you'll be our long range support. Take out any guards you can, knowing these noble's they'll have a large force surrounding the place. Go ahead and get set up before dark so you can scout the area."

The Quincy nodded and quickly left the room, leaving Chad, Tatsuki, and Orihime.

Ichigo scratched his chin before speaking. "You guys will be doing cleanup duty. Once you get in distance hit them with everything you've got, understood?"

"Right"

"Got it!"

"Finally! Some action!"

Ichigo chuckled as the two girls left, but noticed Chad stayed.

"Something wrong Chad? You seem a little apprehensive."

"Where are you going to be Ichigo?"

The orange-haired man laughed. "Well while you guys are doing your thing outside, I'm going to be inside having a little chat with our noble client and his friends, reminding him why he should have honored his end of our deal."

Chad nodded his head. It made sense. "Ichigo, can I ask you a question?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever wish, things could go back to how they were?"

Ichigo sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "There's nothing we can do about it now. Though I do worry about if old man Yamamoto ever gets his hands on us. You and I would take whatever punishment deemed necessary. It's Tatsuki and Orihime I'm worried about. Hell I even worry about the Quincy. I didn't even want to let them join us in fear of what may happen. But Tatsuki has a way with getting what she wants around here."

Chad actually chuckled. "I've noticed. You let her get away with a lot. Then again you've known her a lot longer than any of us. You even let her sleep in your room, no one else is even allowed in there."

Ichigo nearly blushed but recovered. "Yeah, yeah whatever."

Chad full blown laughed. "A dragon and her protector, or strawberry if she'd prefer."

"Chad you are treading on dangerous water right now, you'd best pick the next words that come out of your mouth very wisely."

The two faced-off in a intense stare-down until both busted out laughing. When they finally gained their composure Ichigo spoke.

"She still has the nightmares."

Chad noticeably stiffened at that statement. Tatsuki's dreams were an sensitive subject. Never spoken aloud, but they all knew of them, none better then Ichigo. No one spoke of it period. Not in or out of Tatsuki's presence. It was out of respect, and kami help the unfortunate bastard that ever was caught speaking about it. If they lived after the beating by Tatsuki, they surely would not survive Ichigo.

They all knew Ichigo had a soft spot for her. A deep connection, a bonding that the rest of them didn't know just how far it went. That was between Ichigo and Tatsuki, and no one pried about it, though there had been some "subtle" hints that they dropped around the odd pair that would leave Ichigo and Tatsuki blushing and muttering about people needing to mind their own damn business. That was who Ichigo is. He was her protector. Something that never needed to be said, it simply just…was. That was the first ruled that came abundantly clear. You fuck with Tatsuki, you endure Ichigo's wrath.

Chad smiled. "You'd protect her with your life huh Ichigo."

Ichigo nodded. "I would. I'll protect everybody I can Chad. You know that."

The giant nodded. "That's what makes you a good leader Ichigo. You care for your squad."

The orange-haired Shinigami just waved his hand around. "Yeah well don't go spreading that around. Got to keep up appearances and all."

Chad nodded and became silent. "You've heard the rumor?"

Ichigo became irate. "Fucking A. The one where I can magically sprout wings? Or the one where I become a werewolf and murdered everybody in the south district?"

Ichigo settled down when Chad gave him an "WTF" look.

"Oh sorry about that Chad. Just seems a lot of rumors have been going around lately."

Chad shrugged. "The one about Captains' Aizen, Tosen, and Ichimaru. Word going around they went underground, word is they defected as well."

Ichigo scoffed.

Chad spoke. "Don't think there's any merit behind it?"

Ichigo shrugged. "You know a rumor I heard? One saying that I am incapable of dying. Look I'm not saying it's untrue, just I wouldn't put a lot of faith in a rumor."

Chad nodded. "Fair enough. Have you heard anything from Gin?

Ichigo stood up to stretch. "Yeah, about two months ago. Sent me a message telling me that Karin and Yuzu are doing okay, and the old man as well. He was keeping an eye on them."

Chad remained still. Ichigo and Gin had a history. They were once best friends and finished the academy together, and both became lieutenants at the same time. Gin under Aizen, and Ichigo under Ukitake. Word was that they were to be the next hybrid of Soul Reapers, showing an awesome amount of power for being so young. Ichigo caught some flak befriending Gin, while many thought Ichimaru was unnerving to be around, and thought he couldn't be trusted. But still he and Ichigo remained friends. It was Ichigo that got Gin and Rangiku to hit it off so to speak as he set them up.

Chad responded. "So you still think he can be trusted?"

Ichigo ran his fingers through his hair. "Gin has always had my back, and I could always rely on him. I'm not giving up on him just yet."

Chad could understand that. "Anything else in his letter noteworthy?"

Ichigo grimaced while nodding. "Yeah, he said something about a storm brewing, with Yamamoto right in the middle of it."

The two remained still for a moment before Ichigo spoke.

"Alright we can talk about it some more later, right now we got some business to care of."

Chad nodded as they walked out of their building.

**Hey everybody. Something I had in my head for awhile. Hope you enjoyed it, sorry about the mistakes, now as you can tell its au, and more will be explained next chapter. Ichigo's rise and fall, tatsuki's nightmares and more! Please read and review ****J**** be safe everybody.**

**-BH**


End file.
